New Zealand trade deficit narrows considerably in November

New Zealand reported a trade deficit of NZD 0.4 billion in November, which compares with a NZD 1.2 billion trade gap in the same month of 2023.

Total exports surged 9.1% year-on-year to NZD 6.48 billion in November. That reflected higher shipments of:

– fruit (162% YoY);
– precious metals, jewelry and coins (51% YoY);
– milk powder, butter and cheese (12% YoY).

Exports decreased for:

– casein (-22% YoY);
– iron and steel (-20% YoY);
– edible preparations (-7.8% YoY);
– machinery (-6.2% YoY).

Total imports went down 3.9% year-on-year to NZD 6.91 billion due to lower purchases of:

– aircraft and parts (-74% YoY);
– petroleum (-32% YoY);
– vehicles (-14% YoY).

Imports rose for:

– fertilizers (123% YoY);
– sugars (103% YoY);
– electrical machinery (7.3% YoY).

The New Zealand Dollar was 0.15% firmer on the day against its US counterpart, with the NZD/USD currency pair last trading at 0.5637.

The Forex pair was holding near a more than two-year low of 0.5607, registered on Thursday.

The Kiwi still remained under pressure from a stronger US Dollar, after a rather hawkish signal from the Federal Reserve.